ASUU accepts 40% pay rise, ends 16-year renegotiation of 2009 agreement

By Kunle Sanni –

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accepted the Federal Government’s proposed 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff, effectively bringing to a close the prolonged renegotiation of the 2009 FGN–ASUU Agreement that has shaped industrial relations in Nigeria’s university system for over 16 years.

ASUU announced that it reached a fresh agreement with the Federal Government on December 23, 2025, describing the development as a major breakthrough in efforts to stabilise the nation’s public universities. The agreement is scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026, and will be reviewed after three years.

According to the union, the new deal provides that professors will earn pensions equivalent to their annual salaries upon retirement at the age of 70. It also includes a proposal for the establishment of a National Research Council (NRC), which would fund research with at least one per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The announcement was made on ASUU’s official Facebook page on Wednesday.

ASUU highlighted several other provisions in the agreement, including a revised university funding model with dedicated allocations for research, libraries, laboratories, equipment, and staff development. The agreement also strengthens university autonomy and academic freedom while providing for elected academic leadership positions—such as Deans and Provosts—with eligibility restricted to professors.

The union further stated that the agreement guarantees that no member would be victimised for participating in past industrial actions linked to the struggle over the 2009 agreement.